Always
by CPDSVU
Summary: A one-shot about the one time Hailey Upton truly believed she had lost Jay Halstead; along with Natalie Manning who almost lost Will. A tale of two brothers, and the women they love – and how they all make it through, together, forever & for always. Upstead mostly; but a little Manstead in there too!


Hailey swirled the dark amber liquid around in her drink. She wasn't used to this: the waiting around. It gave her too much time to think. About certain things, like her partner, Jay, or how close she came to losing him thanks to Angela Nelson. She had found a friend in his brother, Will, who, along with the rest of the Intelligence unit, had helped her cope with the momentous meaning behind Jay's predicament. Which is coincidentally how she came to realize that her true feelings for Jay went beyond the traditional partnership. They were more than that, always had been. It just took her a little while longer to realize it.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by a text message. _Will has now turned on the classic rock music. Help, please. Wishing I was listening to heavy metal with you instead. Or...doing everything but listening to music. ;) _

Hailey smiled at her phone. _Only Jay would think of something like that. _She composed a text of her own:

_Oh come on now. You two never get a weekend off. Enjoy the time with your brother. I'll be waiting for you at home tomorrow night...if you're lucky, maybe there will be metal, maybe not. You'll just have to wait & see. __❤️_

She had just hit the send button when she heard footfalls coming in her direction. She looked up from her phone to see she was here.

"Hey, Natalie. How are you?" Hailey greeted, hoping the hesitation hid itself from her tone. "Please, sit."

"Hey!" Natalie replied back, surprisingly cheery after a long double shift. "Yes, thank you. I needed this tonight, for sure." She took her seat next to Hailey on the bartop, and poured over the drink menu. Hailey flagged down the bartender and Natalie ordered her first round, wanting to catch up to Hailey, who was halfway through her first whiskey sour.

Once her drink arrived, Dr. Manning got a good bit of it down, before sighing and setting her glass down. "Yep, that's just what I needed."

Hailey smiled at her colleague. "So, how are you?"

Natalie looked at her. "I'm doing okay considering I just finished what feels like the longest double ever. How about you?"

Hailey nodded. "About the same. We worked overtime on a case - all nighter, essentially. I honestly didn't think Jay was going to wake up on time for when Will dropped by to pick him up for their boy's trip!"

Natalie chuckled at that. "Yeah, those brothers love their sleep, don't they?"

Hailey nodded in agreement. "Oh yes, that they do! Was Will as excited as Jay was to get away for the weekend? Lord knows the only thing those guys like more than their work or their beer is their basketball team!"

"Yeah, he was! I still can't believe Will got them box seats for the final Bulls game!"

"Jay was up watching their last game on ESPN classic last night, even after we had gotten home at 3! He's such a dork sometimes..." Hailey said wistfully.

"Boys...can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em, right?" Natalie said, raising her half-gone glass to cheers with Hailey.

"Cheers to that," Hailey said, clinking her glass with Natalie's.

"So, things are good with you and Jay?" Natalie asked.

"Mhmm," Hailey said, trying to play it off. Truth was, it was the best it had ever been, even with all the obstacles they had been through recently.

"Uh huh," Natalie paused, eyeing her suspiciously. "Spill, Upton!"

Hailey couldn't hide the blush that crept up on her cheeks. "It's great, it's really great. I can't believe I was so worried about it wrecking our partnership, or our friendship. But it's honestly made us better, as cheesy as that sounds."

"I'm really glad to hear it, Hailey. You guys seem really happy!" Natalie said genuinely.

"So, how about you and Will? Are you guys still taking things slow?"

Natalie paused, looking down into her glass. "Yeah, I mean, we are...but he's already bonded right back up with Owen, so how can I not have him over all the time, you know? Those two...I swear, sometimes it's like I'm raising two kids!" She laughed at the thought of Will and Owen, buddying up over trucks and which superhero was better: Batman or Superman.

Hailey laughed along with her, knowing Jay was such a kid at heart too. _Those Halstead brothers..._

As if on cue, Hailey's phone rang, and she smiled at the caller ID. "Hi Jay..." she answered, putting it on speaker for the hilarity that was sure to follow.

"Hailey! Thank god! He's still-" Jay's exasperated voice was cut off by very loud, very off key singing, coming from Will.

"And we used to sing...sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-tee-da!"

"Jesus, Will, shut up..." Jay pleaded, and Hailey could hear the frustration in his voice. "Seriously, be glad you're not stuck in the car with this guy for the next hour. Why did I agree to this again?" He asked rhetorically.

Hailey was just about to answer cheekily when Will chimed in yet again. "Because you're my brother and you love meeeee!"

Natalie was cracking up beside her. "Will, honey, give Jay a break..." she tried to reason with her boyfriend.

She heard Will scoff on the other end of the phone. "Oh heck no! We're gonna jam out for the rest of the trip! Bye ladies!"

"Wait a minute, Will-" Jay's voice cut out as the phone was promptly hung up.

Hailey had bitten her lip to keep from laughing at Jay's expense, but she couldn't hold back any longer. "Oh my word, those two!"

Natalie could hardly contain her eye roll at Will's antics, but Hailey saw the appreciative smile she had. They were both, in fact, crazy about those brothers.

_Oh hey, forgot to say, I love you._

Hailey felt her heart soar at Jay's sweet text. He was something else.

_Love you too, Jay. Always. _

_Would have called you back to tell you, but wanted to spare you the agony of hearing Will's singing voice again. _

_Oh, how kind of you. _

_Love you, Hails. See you later. _

_Bye Jay, have fun. Don't kill Will. And I love you too, babe. _

She looked up from her phone again, only to find Natalie giving her _that _look. The one that says 'You are so in love it's insane but how cute.' Hailey couldn't help but beam right back at her, hoping Natalie and Will will get back to that place again too.

* * *

"Will, I swear to god, if you sing Sweet Caroline, I will personally throw you out of this car." Jay warned, pinching the bridge of his nose once again. They had about 30 minutes left until they got to Evanston for the game, but with the light bit of snow that had started to fall, Jay just wanted to get there quickly and safely. But, mostly quickly so he could jump out of the car and away from Will's off-key singing.

"Okay, okay, I'll skip it. But we will be listening to Sweet Home Alabama..."

Jay rolled his eyes. _Of course_. "Do I have a choice?"

Will smirked, briefly looking at his younger brother. "Should've driven your truck if you wanted radio control."

Jay sighed, smacking his arm. "You're the worst sometimes, you know that."

"You love me anyhow, bro."

"Yeah yeah."

Jay found himself humming along to a few more songs before the snow picked up some more. "Watch for ice," he warned Will.

Will nodded, and Jay saw him grip the wheel a little bit firmer. "Of course."

They were just about ready to get off at their exit for Evanston when another car cut them off, causing Will to slam on his brakes and honk the horn. "Hey!" He shouted at no one in particular.

Jay was about ready to give the driver the finger when the unthinkable happened.

"Will!"

Those were the last words he got out before his world was turned upside down.

* * *

Natalie had finished her second drink when she felt her phone buzz. "Hm, that's weird. I must've missed a call from Will." She tugged her phone out of her purse, noticing that it was in fact, from Will. A 1:30 second message waited for her.

There was nothing audible voice-wise, but that didn't make it any less confusing of a call to receive. All she could hear were clipped sounds...ones that sounded harsh and almost visceral.

She shakily reached a hand over to tap Hailey's shoulder.

Hailey looked up quickly. "Yeah?" When she noticed the fear in Natalie's eyes, she too grew concerned. "Natalie? What is it?"

Natalie didn't say anything, instead put her phone on speaker so Hailey could hear the broken up voicemail.

Crashes and what sounded like distant echoes came raging through the phone, causing Hailey's heart to drop. She immediately grabbed her own phone to call 911 when her radio sounded.

"All units citywide. Reports of an accident off the 101 exit near Evanston. Possible collision. One car reported in a ditch. No witnesses. Any available units, please respond. Ambulance en route now."

"5021 Henry, plain clothes officer responding."

"You don't think-" Natalie's voice broke.

"I don't know. But we're sure as hell gonna find out." Hailey said, trying to keep her composure. _Come on Jay, please be okay. I can't lose you again. And I know Natalie can't lose Will. Please, please. _

She repeated that mantra in her head and she blared the sirens on her car, making the hour drive to where the accident was reported. She just hoped to God they weren't too late.

* * *

Will awoke to smoke and ash everywhere. _A fire? Why is there a fire? _He took a second to realize that the flames were in fact coming from his own car, and that if they didn't get out of there, they were as good as dead. He coughed, trying to get his bearings. He was still strapped in to his seat, but his arm was pinned.

He groaned as he tried to break it free, not able to do it just yet. He knew at this rate he'd have to risk breaking it completely in order to get it free. His eyes searched for Jay, who was unmoving in the passenger seat. He used his good arm to feel around for Jay's seatbelt, but as he did so he realized that they were not upright anymore. They were in fact, turned over onto the side, Will facing upwards towards the sky, with Jay's side crumbled into the ditch.

"Jay? Jay, can you hear me?!" Will called to his brother. "Oh God," he said to himself, as he wrenched his arm free. He screamed in pain at hearing the bone fracture, but he knew he'd survive it. He peeled his arm off the seat and placed it carefully along his stomach to keep it bent.

He carefully unbuckled his seatbelt, grabbing hold of the edge of the driver's side to hoist himself up. "Ahhh!" He ground out, as he got about halfway up. He stopped for a split second, but forced himself out the rest of the way. He jumped down onto the ground, racing around to the other side where Jay sat, still unconscious, he assumed.

"Jay! Jay?!" He reached inside, trying to get a better look at his head. "Okay, it's okay, you're okay. Just hang on, buddy." He held his brother's head in place, manually stabilizing it. He looked at the amount of blood seeping from his head, hating the glisten it made against his pale freckled skin.

"Jesus," he muttered, panicking at the fact that he couldn't move unless he got something to stabilize Jay's head. "Help! Someone help!" He used the rest of his strength to shout for assistance of any kind, praying a good Samaritan would be passing by. He could've sworn he heard voices, but he couldn't make out any figures in the night. That's when he realized the sounds were from Jay's radio.

"All units, please be advised, car crash off of exit 101. Any available units, please respond. Ambulance ETA 2 mins."

"You hear that Jay? Their on their way, okay? Stay with me, please..." Will begged.

A mumble caught his attention. "Mmmm."

"Jay? Oh, my God, Jay." Will said, a little too frantic, judging by Jay's wide-eyed expression. "Hey, it's okay, we're okay. Can you move at all? Like your legs?"

He watched Jay's brows furrow as he tried to maneuver his legs from the floor. Will saw him successfully lift his legs up, putting a bend in his knees. "Good enough for me. Alright buddy, on the count of three, we're gonna pry you out of this car, alright?"

Jay nodded, seeming to be more alert now as Will unhooked his seatbelt.

"Alright, 1...2...3!" Will kept his head steady while Jay used whatever energy he had left to get out of the car, albeit it wasn't a pretty sight, as he had to half crawl, half fumble out of the passenger side.

They had pulled each other back a ways, just as the ambulance arrived and Will's car went up in smoke.

* * *

"Hailey!" Natalie said harshly. "Hold on a second!" She screamed, as Hailey made another sharp turn, this time onto the 101. It had only been twenty minutes, but to Hailey, it felt like years. They had made it in record time, but they still had about 20 more minutes until they'd get to where the accident took place.

"Natalie!" She shouted just as harshly. "Please," she added in a softer tone. "Just keep calling them."

The brunette nodded from the passenger seat, dialing up Will and Jay once again. "Okay."

Hailey had to keep focused, as she weaved around the mazes of cars that littered the highway. She beeped her horn incessantly at the idiots who wouldn't get out of her way, despite the flashing police lights.

"Did you get anything?" She asked Natalie for the thounsandth time.

"No, but I'll keep trying."

Hailey nodded, continuing the drive up to the exit.

She turned the dial on her radio to receive more intel. "All units, please be advised. Ambulance has arrived on scene. Fire still being put out. Only authorized personnel to come through. Repeat, only authorized personnel."

_Fire. There was a fire too? Oh God._ Hailey couldn't keep her mind from racing a mile a minute. _Shit, shit, shit. _

As if she could read her mind, Natalie reached out her hand to Hailey. "Hey, they're gonna be okay." She sounded like she believed herself. Hailey wished she could too.

* * *

"Please, we need some help over here!" Will shouted, as he felt Jay go limp beside him.

"Alright," the paramedics responded to Will's plea. Will, being the doctor that he is, started right in on his schpeel. "Probable concussion, multiple contusions, abrasions, please. He's losing a lot of blood... he's-" he stopped, feeling his own head grow dizzy.

"Alright, sir, we're gonna get you both some help. Just stay calm, stay with me..."

Will could see that there were words coming from the paramedics mouth, but he couldn't hear exactly what was being said. That's when he too, joined his brother in unconsciousness, as he slipped away too, just in time for the paramedic to get him onto a stretcher.

"It's alright, you guys are gonna be alright...just hold on. Hold on."

He was trying, he really was. He just didn't know if Jay was doing as "well" as he was.

* * *

"Here, it's just up here!" Natalie yelled, bringing Hailey's attention to the blockade they had come upon near the exit on the 101. Hailey's eyes frantically took it all in: the sea of red, orange, yellow, and blue lights, sirens...all making the wailing noises she had grown so accustomed to; and yet, being on the other side of it was so foreign to her.

She pulled over into the shoulder a little ways away, grabbing her gun and badge from the glove box. Natalie grabbed her medical badge from her purse, and the two women sprinted towards the horrific scene that laid ahead.

"Ma'am you can't get through." A uniformed officer looked between Hailey and Natalie.

"You can't be here." Another echoed, scolding the two women.

"CPD, Intelligence. Can you tell us what's happened here?" Hailey adamently said, flashing her badge to the patrolmen.

The two officers looked to each other, before nodding. "All we know is that there's been an accident. A semi ran into the back of a car, sending it sideways into a ditch. The truck driver is alright, just shaken. We're unsure of the condition of the person or persons in the car."

"What about the driver, can we talk to him?" Hailey asked, knowing she'd fight her way in if necessary.

"Listen, gentlemen, I'm a doctor at Gaffney Chicago Med. If I can be of assistance, please, just let my friend and I through to survey the scene. We're trained professionals, we've been through this." Natalie offered, as calmly as possible. Hailey even turned to look at her, astounded by her ability to remain even-keeled.

She simply nodded next to Dr. Manning, who showed the officers her medical badge for proof. The men nodded, lifting the barrier for the two women to go through.

"Thank you," Hailey and Natalie said in unison.

They raced towards the first ambulance, wanting to see if the driver was there. They saw an older gentleman, who did appear shaken up. Hailey could hear him telling the EMT, "I swear, I swear, I didn't, I didn't–" but she couldn't hear the rest of it, as another person cornered them.

"What're you guys doing here?" The man wore an EMT uniform.

"Intelligence. We responded to the call." Hailey said curtly.

"I'm a doctor with Chicago Med. Here to help, sir." Natalie added.

"The driver's been treated. But we don't know if other cars were involved, or if it was just the one. So that's what we're checking out right now..."

Natalie was about to offer her expertise when Hailey heard a message, either from someone's lips or the radio, she wasn't sure. She just kept hearing it, over and over again in her head.

_Two confirmed fatalities. _

_Two people are dead. _

She opened her mouth to ask Natalie something, but she noticed Natalie wasn't by her side anymore.

"HAILEY!"

She had never heard Natalie shriek like that in her life. She took off running towards the shrill sound, finding Natalie with her hands over her mouth, choking on her last word. Because right in front of her, was Will's car. Or, what was left of it. She recognized the custom license plate: HALSTEAD.

Hailey sucked in a breath. That was the last one she felt herself take. _No._ "No." She whispered, hugging Natalie. "They've gotta be okay, they just can't–" But when her eyes noticed the empty car seats amongst the charred rubble, she felt her heart break at the tragic possibility.

Now it was Hailey's turn to choke on her cries, her body racked with sobs once again. The only other time she cried like this was when she rode to Med with Jay. When she had his blood on her hands, literally. Her partner's blood was on her hands, and she just sat there and cried. Broke down into a million little pieces. And here she was now, doing the exact same thing. _This couldn't possibly be happening again_. Could it?

Natalie wailed next to her, making Hailey look where Natalie's eyes laid. A body was being rolled away on a gurney. When she saw the second one being wheeled away, she lost it. _No. No. No. _"Oh god," Hailey gasped. "No! No, no no!" She too cried with Natalie, the two trying desperately to hold the other up, both literally and figuratively.

"No, it can't be!" Natalie said, still trying to process it. "_Not_ _Will_. Please, not Will!"

"God, _why_. Why!?" Hailey sobbed. She cried for Jay, for Will, for Natalie, and for herself. "No, this can't...he can't– I just got him back!"

Natalie opened her mouth to say something, but it was broken again by a sob. Hailey hugged her tighter, trying to get the images of their bodies out of her mind. But she couldn't. That's all she saw. Jay being gone from her. For real this time. No what-ifs, or close calls. No, this was real. Very real, and too real for her heart to take. She couldn't even begin to understand the unfairness and utter cruelty that had blanketed her world right now.

* * *

Hailey sniffled, finally having to break away from Natalie to wipe her face. God she probably looked a mess. She swiped a hand across her face, as did Natalie. They tried to compose themselves well enough to finish what they came here to do. There was, they knew, only one way to know indefinitely if Jay and Will really were gone.

"Excuse me, what can you tell us about the two DOAs?" Hailey asked, sucking in a shaky breath. She hooked Natalie's arm with hers to keep her friend upright, for fear her sadness would take her under.

"Mr. and Mrs. Michaelson suffered extreme head injuries, caused inadvertantently by–"

Hailey put her hand up to stop the medical personnel. "I'm sorry, what? What did you say?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Michaelson..."

"Hailey?" Natalie asked, touching her arm.

"Oh my God," Hailey whispered, dropping Natalie's arm from her own, and putting her hand to her mouth in shock. "Oh my God!"

She felt her eyes well up with tears once again, but she had to know the truth regardless. She took off running in the other direction, with Natalie following close behind her, yelling for her to slow down.

"Hailey, wait!"

She kept going. She had to know. "Jay?! Will?!"

She shouted their names until her throat hurt. She didn't care. She only wanted to know if there was hope at the end of the tunnel.

"Jay?! Will?!"

"Hailey!" Natalie tried once more. "What're you doing?!"

Hailey kept going, pushing past people, bystanders, medical personnel, police, everyone and everything. Nothing would be in her way again. Not this time. Not a chance.

Then, she heard the sweetest sound in the world.

"Hailey?"

He said it just like he had a million times before, but this time, this time it meant a lot. A lot more than she expected.

"Jay? Jay!" She breathed, finally rounding the corner of another ambulance until she saw the two brothers sitting on the bed. "Oh thank god, you're alright!"

She ran to him, immediately hugging him and feeling at home in the warmth that was so uniquely _Jay_.

"Hey, Hails," he breathed into her hair, kissing the top of her head.

"Thank god you came back to me." She cried, kissing him gently.

"Always, Hailey. Always."

She broke a part from Jay upon hearing Natalie's own cry of relief and joy. The happy couple watched with happiness as Natalie and Will reunited too.

"I thought I'd lost you again, Jay. I couldn't...I couldn't go through that again." She whispered, leaning into him.

Jay wrapped his arms around her comfortingly. "I'm here, Hailey. For now and forever. For you."

She kissed him one more time. "I love you, so so much."

"Love you too, Hailey. Always."

* * *

**A/N****: Aaaaaaand scene. Hope you guys enjoyed this one-shot. It's definitely shorter and less detailed than most that I've written, but I was inspired to write something sad and happy all at once, mostly from that heartbreaking TVLine clip we got for 7x10 – but if you want a fic inspired specifically by that episode, or the fall finale, go read my "Romeo & Juliet" two-shot story. This was also inspired by my friend saying how Natalie and Will should be back together and then having Jay & Hailey together, the four of them kind of being a fun group. Anyhow, hope ya'll liked this. Also, can January 8 come any faster please?! Jay's gotta be okay! :) **


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